Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 269 › Conversation 269-018

Nixon & Colson on National Economy and Steel Industry

Tuesday, August 3, 1971 · 10:19 AM–10:32 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 9 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation269-018 on Tape 269 (tape position 02:02:04–02:15:05)StartTuesday, August 3, 1971 at 10:19 AMEndTuesday, August 3, 1971 at 10:32 AMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 269-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson met to discuss the national economy, focusing on rising steel prices, unemployment figures, and the administration's messaging strategy. They addressed the need to manage public perception through economic talking points and discussed strategies to counter political criticism from Senator Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. and other Republicans. Nixon directed Colson to organize a coordinated effort to influence GOP legislators and prepare effective materials for upcoming electoral messaging.

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Position in tape: 02:02:04 – 02:15:05

part B, 2:06

269a.mp3
269b.mp3
269c.mp3
269d.mp3

NARA Description

On August 3, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:19 am to 10:32 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 269-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 269-18

Date: August 3, 1971
Time: 10:19 am - 10:32 am
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

     National economy
          -Strikes

              -Steel price increase
                    -Steel industry
                    -Railroad industry
        -Lowell P. Weicker, Jr.'s statements
              -Possible administration response
                    -Briefing
                    -John B. Connally
                    -Clark MacGregor
              -Administration policy
                    -Democrats' position
              -Congressional recess
              -William B. Saxbe
        -Unknown man
              -Massachusetts
                    -People's Republic of China [PRC]
              -Democrats
        -Retail sales figures
              -June 1971
        -Unemployment
              -Figure
              -Youth
        -Talking points
              -Connally
                    -Patrick J. Buchanan
                    -Paul W. McCracken
                    -Howard H. Baker, Jr. [?]
        -Peter M. Flanigan
        -Wage and price freeze
              -Timing
                    -August
                    -September
                    -Steel strike
                    -Psychology

Polls
        -[Louis P. Harris ?]
        -Presidential approval
              -Iowa and Ohio
        -George H. Gallup

Support for administration

          -Instructions for Colson
                -F. Bradford Morse
                -Weicker
                      -Congressional Republicans
                      -Connally
                -Liberals
                -Jacob K. Javits
     National economy
          -Status
                -Strength
                      -Retail sales
          -Public perception
                -Harris polls
                      -Influences
                            -Politicians
                            -Media

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Yeah.
Hello?
Well, what's new today?
Yeah, except for Stiegel's pressure, I assume.
Well, we didn't expect that.
Yeah.
Stiegel was a big win once, anyway.
Stealing railroads, yeah.
Yeah.
One thing I noted, incidentally, on looking at Weikert's blast, is that, remember I said that not only should they keep that name, because we've got a date now that we're running two days, but not only should we try to freeze the 19 candidates, but I agree with Bob that we have to get rid of Weikert, we have to get rid of him, and I think we've got to return to common sense on this.
Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya
Yeah.
Well, we have people that are quite close to him.
If somebody wanted to have a talk with him, McGregor probably doesn't know anything here.
Somebody is probably going to take a look here, but you just don't know anything.
Get yourself a name on the list by taking this line.
It's great.
It's great.
It's definitely a problem.
Yeah, he's playing their line right down the line, and also he's just coming up with opportunities to get help from us to eat cold turkey.
Oh, I know that.
Yeah.
We know that.
I know that.
So we're working on it.
We're going to rest it into a salt and put the hell away.
Yeah, you say, look, gee, we're all boys.
Don't blame the Democrats.
Talk about the problem.
And then some of those people up there, of course, are after the income policy.
Unfortunately, they'll be out of here during the month of August.
They're going to give us some time to rest.
Although they may, of course, do it from outside.
Well, I feel they will if they run an invention such as I have.
In other words, it even affects that stupid sanctuary.
He actually was a very capable man.
He was a Massachusetts politician who got that benefit from the mandate of the Senate.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But he really showed that, I see.
He replaced him in China probably.
The Democrats were divided.
as long as you get it, that's for sure.
What the retail sales come up with, they're not out yet.
How was Jim?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, they can find me.
They just never know what's going to happen.
Just run it again.
I think that'll go up.
Oh, no.
Six, maybe.
Well, you see, the difficulty is, remember, they think there's an aberration because that was taken in the first week.
You know, when the kids were not allowed to go to the jobs.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It doesn't mean that there's any change.
I know, yeah, yeah.
Well, that wouldn't affect the discipline here.
Yeah, yeah.
Let me ask you this.
Connolly, the talking points, you know, with regard to the strong points of the economy, did Connolly get any sort of take on that or something?
Yeah, send that to Buchanan.
Yeah, I'd actually like to get that to Buchanan to get a crack and prepare something for me that I want to use.
Jesus is terrible.
He just doesn't get it to me.
He just can't put it down in any update language, any language or anything.
That's right.
That's right.
But I think Daddy could also, so God may him honest, you know, just put our side down.
Good one, Patriot.
Good.
Good.
Send over a vote if you can, please.
Great.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
They're the worst miners of all.
Yeah.
Well, I think it's supposed to be doing those, but we can't make any headway on them.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
The month of August is a good month to do it, you know.
It's before you're getting into the September period and the strike's over.
We can't help deal with the psychology of marriage and sex, of change here.

Also recorded on August 3, 1971

  • 269-013 9:57 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and James D. Hodgson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:57 am to 9:58 am.
  • 269-014 9:59 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and J. Curtis Counts met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:59 am to 10:02 am.
  • 269-015 10:02 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:02 am and 10:19 am.
  • 269-016 10:02 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:02 am and 10:19 am.
  • 269-017 10:02 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:02 am and 10:19 am.
  • 269-019 10:32 AM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:32 am and 10:34 am.
  • 269-020 10:32 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:32 am and 10:34 am.
  • 269-021 10:34 AM · 1 hr 28 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, Henry A. Kissinger, John D. Ehrlichman, Andrey Pontier, Benjamin F. Biaggini, and John B. Connally met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:34 am to 12:00 pm.

All 45 conversations from August 3, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 269-018, August 3, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/269-018 (accessed November 2, 2026).